all are different and everyone is responsible...

While reading the position statement this week it became very clear to me that all children are different and all come into school with different backgrounds. We as future teachers must recognize that we will have kids from many different backgrounds in our class. We will have some kids who come into our class with many experiences with reading and writing but we will also have some that have not been exposed. We must provide a variety of ways for all children to learn, as well as model good reading and writing habits. When it comes to reading, we must read a loud to children in a group setting as well as let children read to us. The classroom must also have a wide range of books for the children to look at and read. Modeling good writing habits is also very important and understanding that children will experiment with letters is normal. We are not only responsible for educating our children, we are also responsible educating the children's families as well. We must educate the families on how to incorporate reading and writing in the home. Overall, we must be able to work with all children. We must not only teach children how to read and write, but make it enjoyable for them.

Here are some fun ways to introduce new words in the classroom (some are for the higher elementary grades, but still some good ideas):

*Sight words in a puzzle. Children must match the words on the pieces to the words on the board.

 *Pockets full of pronouns. Lift the flaps to see different pronouns.

 *Contraction cupcakes, must match the top with the correct bottom.

 *Pair of Pears...examples of homophones

 *Paint chip word game. Can be used with vocabulary words...must match the first part of the word with the corresponding slip. Also a good way to help children make different words.

 *Letter recognition with clothespins. Good for younger children, helps them match letters and exposes them to letters and words together.